Crypt of the Sorcerer (book)
Crypt of the Sorcerer is a single-player role-playing gamebook, written by Ian Livingstone, illustrated by John Sibbick and originally published in 1987 by Puffin Books. It was later republished by Wizard Books in 2002. It forms part of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone's Fighting Fantasy series. It is the 26th in the series in the original Puffin series (ISBN 0-14-032155-1) and 6th in the modern Wizard series (ISBN 1-84046-396-1). Creation Background Razaak, an Evil Necromancer, has re-awoken after being entombed for a hundred years. He plans to send his army of undead to take over Allansia. The main objective for the reader is to find his sword, the only weapon which will harm him, and then to find and defeat him. Companions, a Hunter and a Dwarf, are found along the way to help with the adventure. Introduction The book in general follows the original rules set down in The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. (see Game System) Unique Rules The opening paragraph sees the player given a Healing Potion by Gereth Yaztromo which has five doses which restore four stamina points each dose. Equipment List No equipment list is given. It is assumed, since you start with no skill penalties, that you begin the adventure with the standard sword, leather armour, and backpack. Cover and Illustrations '''Covers The original cover of the book was designed and illustrated by Les Edwards. When the book was republished by Wizard the cover was re-worked Les Edwards. #Price of 1st Impression Illustrations The interior illustrations were by John Sibbick. There were 32 full page illustrations and 5 minor repeated illustrations scattered throughout the text. The paragraphs with a full page illustration were: 7, 18, 33, 45, 56, 68, 79, 90, 103, 115, 127, 139, 152, 167, 178, 189, 202, 214, 226, 239, 249, 261, 276, 286, 299, 315, 326, 339, 353, 365, 377 and 391. The colour map on the inside front cover was by Leo Hartas. Intertextual References Other Media Main Characters YOU: Hero of Crypt of the Sorcerer *Borri - Dwarf *Budron *Covax - Wizard *Gereth Yaztromo - Wizard *Jella - Half-Elf *Kull *Lord Varek Azzur *Arakor Nicodemus - Wizard *Razaak - Necromancer *Symm - Hunter/Tracker *Ungoth - Skeleton Lord Locations *Catfish River *Chalice *Darkwood Forest *Forest of Spiders *Howling Tunnels *Lost Lake *Mirewater *Moonstone Hills *Pagan Plains *Plain of Bronze *Port Blacksand *Red River *Silver River *Silverton *''The Lion'' *The Western Flatlands *Valley of Bones *Windward Plain *Yaztromo's Tower *Zengis Encounters *Ape Men *Bonekeeper *Cave Troll *Centaur *Chameleonites *Clay Golem *Demonic Servants *Demonspawn *Doragars *Dwarfs *Gargantis *Giant Fire Beetles *Goblins *Hellcat *Hill Giant *Iron-Eater *Lava Demons *Orcs *Rad-Hulks *Rat Men *Razaak *Skeletons *Vampire Bat *Wild Elf *Wild Hill Man *Werewolf *Wood Demons *Zombies Further Notes *The central plot of Razaak the necromancer bears more than a passing similarity to the story . *This is one of the hardest Fighting Fantasy books, since the victory path is very narrow, leaving very little room for error and therefore making gameplay extremely unforgiving. There are many certain artefacts and items that must be collected in order to be successful. For instance, part of the adventure involves fighting a rare creature known as the Gargantis to get its horn; the only way to defeat it is by gaining the power of chameleonite camouflage and a certain crystal as a protection. But in order to gain the crystal in the first place, the player must expose himself to a deadly menace at the start which can easily end the game very quickly, if the die roll to be made is unlucky enough. Not only that, there are other crucial dice rolls scattered throughout the book that have a significant chance of getting an instant death, which has nothing to do with the player's skill, stamina, or luck scores. Therefore even if the player has maximum scores, the chances of him/her surviving is still deemed to be small. Errors *The equipment list is missing which may be an error. Dedication To Jack See Also *''Armies of Death'' *''Caverns of the Snow Witch'' (Mini-FF) *''Caverns of the Snow Witch'' *''City of Thieves'' *''Deathtrap Dungeon'' *''Eye of the Dragon'' (Mini-FF) *''Eye of the Dragon'' *''Fighting Fantasy'' *''Freeway Fighter'' *''Island of the Lizard King'' *''Legend of Zagor'' *''Return to Firetop Mountain'' *''Temple of Terror'' *''The Forest of Doom'' *''The Warlock of Firetop Mountain'' *''Trial of Champions'' External Links *Character Sheet *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_series.php?id=11 Fighting Fantasy at Gamebooks.org] *[http://www.gamebooks.org/show_item.php?id=62 Crypt of the Sorcerer at Gamebooks.org] *[http://web.archive.org/web/20051127132124/www.fightingfantasy.com/ffb26.htm Crypt of the Sorcerer at the Internet Archive record of the old Fightingfantasy.com] *[http://www.fightingfantasygamebooks.com/ff6.htm Crypt of the Sorcerer at the official Fightingfantasygamebooks.com] *[http://www.iconbooks.co.uk/wizard/wbook.cfm?isbn=1-84046-396-1 Crypt of the Sorcerer at Wizard Books] References Category:1987 books Category:FF26 Entries Category:Fighting Fantasy Original Series Category:Fighting Fantasy Wizard Series